Conventional pressure cleaners such as a pressure washer are used to deliver a cleaning fluid (including solutions that use various combinations of solvents, water, including steam, detergents, and the like) under pressure. The pressure washer is often connected via a hose to a source of a cleaning fluid, which is usually provided at a relatively low pressure. The pressure washer typically comprises a motor that can be used to increase the pressure (and/or temperature) of the fluid. The pressure washer often provides the fluid under pressure to a fluid receiving end of a discharge hose. The discharging end of the discharge hose can be coupled to a hand-held wand. The hand-wand usually comprises a handle having a trigger valve that is arranged to control the flow of the pressurized fluid received from the discharge hose. The fluid discharge end of the hand-wand often comprises a single spray nozzle.
In operation, an operator of a pressure cleaner typically holds the handle and trigger with one hand and a central portion of the wand with the other hand. The user can clean a flat surface, for example, by pulling the trigger of the trigger valve and by making sweeping motions such that the pressurized fluid is delivered through the spray nozzles to the surface to be cleaned. However, the pressure wand is cumbersome to operate by hand because of the weight of the wand and fluid, and the forces generated by the pressurized fluid escaping the nozzle. Also, the effective working area of the spray pattern of the escaping pressurized fluid is relatively narrow and often requires many sweeps of the wand to clean the flat surface.
Some have tried to solve this problem by attaching the discharge hose to a “water broom.” The water broom, similar in general shape to a push broom, receives the fluid under pressure from the discharge hose and channels the fluid through a manifold to a plurality of nozzles that are attached to the manifold. The plurality of nozzles can increase the effective working area of the spray pattern. However, the manifold often forces the fluid to be channeled through and around 90 degree turns, which causes turbulence, and substantially decreases the effective pressure of the pressurized fluid escaping the nozzles. The substantially decreased pressure results in less-effective cleaning ability of the device and often requires substantially more stationing time of the nozzles of the surface to be cleaned.